


Evangelion + Homestuck

by thesolaralchemist



Category: Homestuck, Neon Genesis Evangelion
Genre: AU, F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-11
Updated: 2015-03-11
Packaged: 2018-03-17 10:23:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3525695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesolaralchemist/pseuds/thesolaralchemist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a ruined world, the song of humanity goes on, but whether or not that song shall be choked out of existence is up to six children.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It's a Dirty Job...

The story of the human race is seemingly one of non-stop advancement. They developed things like morals, religion, civilization, and machines to assist them in accomplishing what they themselves could not. It is a story of advancement, that is, until you reach the part of the story that happened sixteen years ago.

In 1999, four strange beings of light, who some believe to have been the angels of Judeochristian lore, appeared over the antarctic, and spread what looked to be wings. This caused earthquakes to occur all over the planet, the seas to turn red like blood and toxic for human consumption, and several bursts of energy to be released that burned away the population of whole countries in certain areas. Then, for reasons no one seems to know, these beings vanished, and the madness that had consumed the planet came to an end. A cover story was later released telling the public that the cause of the disasters was a meteor impacting into the Earth. This event would come to be known as "The Second-Impact".

Unfortunately, the strife did not end with the conclusion of The Second-Impact. Twenty five percent of the human population was wiped out in the disaster. In the first few weeks of the aftermath, there were numerous suicides and suicide-homicides due to the inability of some to deal with the state of the world, and as a result the population of the world was brought down by another fifteen percent. 

It is in this ruined world that the story of humanity goes on...  
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Neon Genesis Evangelion + Homestuck: Act I: Chapter 1: It's a Dirty Job...  
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In the dark bedroom of one young man, an alarm clock angrily displayed the time to be 5:59 am. A minute passed in this room, and the alarm clock began to make loud, displeased noises over the fact that it was now six in the morning. The aforementioned young man, to whom this bedroom belonged, stirred, and slammed his hand onto the clock, forcing the device to "snooze". After a few minutes, the alarm clock resumed its tyraid against the young man, and he finally sat up, his black hair messier than usual, to turn the alarm clock off. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes before picking up his glasses from the same night stand that the clock sat on, and put them on, blinking a few times. He got out of his bed, stumbled around in the darkness for a 'bit, and flipped the switch on the wall to illuminate his room. 

The light revealed that the boy's room had several posters on the wall, mostly for movies that some may have considered "cheesy", but he knew them to be under appreciated masterpieces. He had always loved to laugh above all else, so he gravitated towards films like Little Monsters, Ghostbusters, and Flubber. He didn't just enjoy comedies, though, he was also an avid fan of action films, particularly the works of Nicholas Cage. Movies like Con-Air and Face-Off being watched too many times to count. On a shelf near his door were several of the movies he had posters for, and many, many more he had yet to get the posters for.

In the corner of the room across from the head of his bed there was a desk on which his laptop lay. Occasionally he would use his laptop to play video games, but he very rarely did so. At the foot of his bed was a chest that contained many props that he used for gags whenever he got the chance. He'd gotten into gag humor and pranks at a young age due to his father's love of that sort of thing. He had bought the young man the chest when he was little, and the boy had filled it with many a groucho, fake arms, whoopy cushions, and things of the like in the years since.

The young man squinted at the light angrily for a few moments before his eyes adjusted, and made his way to his closet. He removed a white long sleeve shirt with the "Slimer" character from the Ghostbusters films on it and a pair of brown cargo pants. The young man then left to take a shower so that he didn't look like a smelly homeless person. 

This was how John Egbert started most of his days.

After getting dressed, John made his way downstairs to prepare breakfast for himself. Anyone that were to see all of this would wonder where the house's other occupants were, most importantly his parents. These people would be surprised to learn that John lived alone in the house.

Once upon a time, John had lived with both his mother and father, but his life hadn't been very normal then either. His parents had both been scientists, and when John had been very young they moved to Japan to work for the organization known as Nerv. Nerv was founded shortly after The Second-Impact by The United Nations to act as mankind's first defense against the angels in case they ever returned. Its headquarters were located in Tokyo-3, and John's family moved to Akemi, which was a small town that was only twenty minutes outside of Tokyo-3. 

John didn't know what business it was that his parents had gotten up to at the facility, which made sense since he'd been very young when they had worked there, but he figured it was important since it was meant to defend mankind one day. Whatever work it had been, it was what lead to the death of John's father. Some sort of accident had occurred, John had been told, and his father had not survived it.

His relationship with his mother in the days after his father's death fast deteriorated, and she left him a month after the fact. Using her position at Nerv, she had it ordained so that a guardian would be provided for John until he was decided to be capable of living on his own. When John turned thirteen, it was decided that he was fit to do so. That was a year ago. Nerv began paying the bills so that he had basic things like heat, electricity, and water along with money so that John could buy groceries. The money he received was the closest John had come to having any sort of relation ship with his mother since she'd left.

Once John finished eating breakfast, which consisted of bacon and blueberry waffles for those that are curious, he grabbed his back pack, and waited outside for the bus. At seven, the bus came, and John boarded it. John walked to a free seat on the bus, and leaned his head against the window, desperately wishing he were still in bed. Like all people his age, John resented the monotony that the institution of public education forced him to endure, but, unlike many his age, he didn't have any real friends to alleviate it. As he watched the trees pass out the window, John hoped that the impossible would happen and something would happen so he could get out of class early.  
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Tokyo-3 was in total silence. It was not a peaceful silence, but the kind that comes just before the first shot of battle is fired. A battalion of tanks lined the shoreline, others lining the roads that had a view of the sea, aimed at an endless red ocean. VTOLs were ready to take to the air at a moment's notice. Every single civilian was currently in emergency shelters. The only sounds heard in the city were of the wind and of cicadas chirping. 

All of this was due to the fact that, at 9:13 am, a blood type-blue entity was detected forty miles off shore. The angels had returned.

Deep underground, in the Command Center of Nerv, several officials from The JSSDF watched a display of the ocean with bated breath. There was an ash tray full of cigarette butts at the table the five men sat at. A woman with shoulder-length, wavy black hair sat at a desk a few feet from these men. She wore the uniform for higher ranked officers at Nerv, black pants and jacket. She kept the jacket open, revealing a red sweater underneath. On the hands currently clasped in front of her mouth she wore a pair of white gloves. Over brown eyes, she wore a pair of orange sunglasses. This woman was the Commander of Nerv, Meenah Crocker. 

Crocker didn't like having the men in her command center, even if she had expected them to come by once the entity had been detected. This was to be Nerv's fortress to command forces against the angels, not the army's. She swallowed her pride despite this, knowing that their being here would give her time to set the pieces in place that would be needed to stop the angel. Whereas everyone else in the room had a tense air to them and a stressed expression, The Commander wore one of icy indifference.

Then, the view screen displayed a giant burst of water in the distance, as if a torpedo had gone off and sent the water skyward. "So it begins...", The Commander remarked quietly. As the water splashed back down, the creature became visible. It was thirty two stories tall. It's skin had a black-green color and a texture akin to seaweed. It's anatomy was an odd thing to look at. It had long, spindly limbs, and a wide torso. It's bulky shoulders were covered in an armoring that looked like bone. "Ribs" on its chest housed a red orb. It's "face" had a similar appearance to the plague doctor masks of old. For a few horrible minutes, the angel merely stood there, red running off its body.

One of the officials yelled "Fire!", and the battalion of tanks did just that. The officials watched in horror as the shells impacted against a forcefield of hexagons that was only visible when objects impacted against it. "What the Hell!?!", one man yelled. The angel then began approaching the shore, the tanks continuing their pointless assault. They did so until the angel stepped on one of them, the resulting explosion causing a domino effect of explosions that looked similar to a line of firecrackers going off. 

As everyone in the room panicked, the Nerv officers a little less so than the others, The Commander's thoughts shifted from the scene before her to the matter of her son as there was no reason to pay any attention of the military's asinine attempts to stop The Third Angel. By her calculations, Captain Hahaoya should be reaching John's school soon. Once that was done, and she had returned, they could properly deal with the matter at hand.  
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The student body and staff of Akemi Middle School were currently making their way to the school's emergency shelter. The shelter was one of the two the town possessed, the other being located near the postal office. The shelter itself was a large, spacious room with walls reinforced enough to withstand a military strike. The students had been told that something was going on in Tokyo-3, and that they were being moved merely as a precaution.

John looked around the shelter with a worried expression. When he'd hoped that something got him out of class today, this hadn't been it. Instead of worrying about the speed of the clock's ticking, John now worried about the safety of the people in Tokyo-3. Sure, it was a big city that was prepared for disasters, but if whatever was going on there was bad enough for a town twenty minutes away to be doing this, it had to be pretty bad. The student body was separated into groups of four, and John was directed to sit in a spot with three of his fellow classmates. As the others talked amongst themselves, John's thoughts, for the first time in years, drifted to his mother. 'I wonder if Mom is safe....I....I hope she is....'

Suddenly, John's reverie was shattered by the sound of his name being called. "John! Johnny boy!! Johnny Egberrrt!!!", a woman's voice shouted. John looked around, and spotted her very quickly, mostly because most of the people in the room were sitting down. She had shoulder-length blonde hair that curled upwards in the back. She wore an odd pair of pointed sunglasses over her eyes, and black lipstick over pouty lips. On her curvaceous body, she wore a simple, pink dress with black hems. Around her neck, a simple cross necklace dangled. John stood, and approached the woman, who had her back to him. "Agh, I swear if that kid decided to stay home in bed or somethin', I'm go-", her tyraid was cut off when John tapped her shoulder. "You were looking for me?", John said with a slightly amused tone. "Yeah I was! Roxy Hahaoya, pleased ta' meet ya'!", she smiled, extending a hand to the teen. John shook the hand.

"Nice to meet you too, but, uh, why're you here looking for me?"   
"Oh, right! I'm from Nerv. Your Mom sent me to get you."

John's mouth opened slightly, and his eyes widened. "M-My Mom?!" "Yep! Now it's time to hit the road, so let's get goin'.", Roxy declared. She took John's hand, and turned to leave. John, however, didn't move. Roxy looked at him, confused. "Just wait a minute. Why does she want to see me after all this time? And isn't Tokyo-3 dangerous right now?", John said, seemingly becoming panicked. Roxy sighed and removed her shades so that John could see her pink eyes, and her expression softened. "You're just going to have to come with me if you wanna know, John." John looked indecisive for a moment. His mother had had nothing to do with him for ten goddamn years, and now wanted to see him for God knows what. Tokyo-3 was currently a danger zone for some reason. So why should he go with this complete stranger? John already knew the answer to those questions, though. He wanted to know why she wanted to see him now, maybe even learn why she'd had nothing to do with him for so long. He also, for reasons he couldn't really justify, trusted Roxy to keep him safe in whatever situation awaited them in Tokyo-3. Finally, John nodded, and the two made their way out of the shelter.

The two got into Roxy's green '96 Pontiac, and were soon on the road to Tokyo-3. "Y'know, when I found out your name, I was surprised. I mean, I was already p surprised that The Commander even had a son, but, like, my surprise-o meter was totally shattered when I saw you two didn't have the same last names.", Roxy admitted to the teen. "Yeah, I have my Dad's last name. After he died, she changed her name back to her maiden name, and...left me....", John explained, becoming slightly depressed toward the end. For a few moments, silence enveloped the car. John thought that he now knew what his Mom's job was, even if he didn't know what a Commander did at Nerv. He guessed it had to be important. Important enough to leave him. John now remembered why he'd stopped thinking about his Mom in the last few years: It just depressed him. John's train of thought was sent off its rails to crash in a gorge, though, when he heard what sounded like thunder in the distance. He looked around at the sky to see that it was still a bright, sun shiny day. "What was that? I don't see any storm clouds anywhere.", John asked the driver. "That would be the sounds of artillery fire and missles, I would guess.", Roxy said as if it wasn't a totally terrifying statement. "What!?! Why would that being happening in Tokyo-3!?", John asked, obviously flipping his proverbial shit. Roxy was about to answer, when the cause of all the ruckus came into view. "Why don't ya' take a look for yourself, John.", She said, causing the boy to look from her to the windshield.

In the distance, Tokyo-3 was visible. It looked a 'bit smaller than in the movies, but John didn't really care much as the giant monster thing that was currently being fired upon by VTOLs took up most of his attention. The creature lifted its arm, and a "lance" made up of a purple energy seemed to shoot out of it, destroying one of the VTOLs.

"That's an angel, John. Nerv exists to make sure they don't wipe us out."  
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Everyone in the Command Center watched as The Third Angel, which was currently under a hail of gunfire by the remaining VTOLs, stopped its fighting against the aircraft. Then, a "halo" appeared over its head, and it levitated into the air, sending a burst of air that sent two more VTOLs crashing into the ground. The creature flew about two dozen feet before landing on a street, crushing several cars under its feet while also doing some damage to the buildings on the street.   
One official who looked to be in his thirties slammed his fist against the table he and the others sat at. "Dammit! No matter what we throw at it, that monster just won't stop!" "To make matters worse, it seems to be heading to Nerv Headquarters for some reason.", another official noted. "Now, now, we still have one or two tricks left up our sleeves, and I doubt this thing will be able to survive them. Have them barrage the thing with missles to confuse it, then drop an N2 Mine on the damned thing's head.", an older official said. One of the technicians relayed the order while the man's companions expressed their surprise. "An N2 Mine!? That will do more damage than this thing has already done itself!" "He's right, sir, it's going to do a lot of damage, and we can't be certain that it'll even work." The man gave them a hard look. "I know very well it's going to do a lot of damage, but I'm not about to let this thing destroy what's left of the planet just because of a little property damage. And if this thing can survive an N2, then we're going to have a little more to worry about than a few busted windows."

The Commander watched the men bicker, and knew very well that none of their conventional weaponry would be of any use against the angel. Even if they penetrated its AT Field, they'd be unable to do any lasting damage unless they destroyed the angel's core. She could have told them this, but she needed them to fail so that the government would finally put some trust into Nerv and The Evangelion Project.  
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As they approached Tokyo-3, Roxy noticed that the VTOLs were firing several missles, and the turrents that lined the mountain roads were firing heavy artillery shells. "What the Hell are they doin'? They should know by now that they're wasting their time with-", Roxy stopped when she noticed the fighter jet approaching. She immediately slammed on the breaks, forcing both John and herself to jerk forward against their seat belts. Speaking of the safety devices, Roxy quickly undid both her and John's, and held John to her tightly as they braced for impact. Not two seconds later, the fighter jet flew over head, and dropped its payload on top of the angel. The resulting explosion was enormous, and its light was blinding. The powerful wind it sent out caused Roxy's car to be blown back, the green Pontiac doing several flips.  
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The four officials smiled smugly at the view screen, which had gone to static due to the power of the blast. The older official who had come up with their strategy turned to The Commander, smiling smugly. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but it looks like we won't be needing Nerv's help today.", he said to her, but she continued to stare at the view screen rather than acknowledge the man's comment. 

Suddenly the feed was restored. A red, fiery Earth was shown, and the destructive power of the N2 Mine was on display. Nevertheless The Third Angel still stood, clearly visible on the screen. Several red pustules appeared to have swollen on the creature's body from the heat, and gills on its chest seemed to open and close as if to purify the air so that it could breath in. Underneath The Third Angel's original "face" a new one burst through the skin, slightly cracking and pushing aside the former. The new "face" was made of the same bone material as the previous, but its design was simpler, with only two "eye holes" on its surface.

All five men sank back into their seats, utterly horrified. "That was it. Our ace in the hole.", the older official said. If Crocker was right, and she was, they would have roughly an hour before the angel had regenerated from the JSSDF's assault. Plenty of time for John to arrive. Behind her hands, Commander Crocker smiled.  
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Roxy and John managed to crawl out of the car, which was currently on its side. "You okay?", Roxy asked the boy as she tried to calm down her fast-beating heart. "Aside from the dirt in my mouth and the bruising in places I didn't know bruised, I'm peachy.", John joked, wiping dirt off his lips. Roxy gave a small chuckle, her heart finally slowing. "Well, if you're feelin' well enough to make shitty jokes, you're feelin' well enough to help me get this car off its side." The two put their backs against the car, and, when Roxy said "Push!", they pushed the car back onto its wheels, a loud thud being made. The car bounced on its shocks for a few moments while one of the side-mirrors dangled. "Man, this thing's a mess.", John said a little sad to see the green car in such a state. "What're ya' talkin' about? It just needs a little help from Doctor Roxy, and she'll be good as new.", Roxy said, searching through the glove compartment. "And what does the doctor prescribe?", John asked, amused by the woman's confidence in her "medical expertise". Roxy turned with a triumphant smile on her face and a roll of silver tape in her hands. "The cure for everythin' that ails ya', John: Duct tape!", she said, pulling a piece for emphasis.

And just a few minutes later, the two were on the road again, thanks to the savior of all mankind's woes that is duct tape. "I'm glad this thing isn't ruined 'cause I don't think that my insurance covers N2 Mines."

Soon they reached what looked like a tunnel with a logo on the entrance. The logo was red, and consisted of half a maple leave with NERV written next to it. Around the leaf was a circle of text which read, "God's In His Heaven. All Is Right With The World." After a few moments, the entrance opened. The inside of the tunnel revealed that the tunnel went downward into the Earth, and there were lights along the tunnel to illuminate it. Along the roof was a railing that connected to several platforms, and Roxy drove onto one. It started to move, and the Pontiac was carried by the car-train towards Nerv Headquarters. 

"Oh, Johnny, I almost forgot! You're probably gonna need this.", Roxy said, handing the boy a green book with "Welcome to Nerv" written on the cover. "Welcome to Nerv? Am I going to be working here, or something?", John asked, but Roxy remained silent. After a few minutes, John broke the silence. 

"So what does it mean that my Mom's "The Commander"? Is it important?"  
"Pff, a li'l more than just important, John. Your Mom is the person in charge of this whole place. She's the one who keeps it all runnin'."  
"I guess it must be pretty demanding since..."

And so silence enveloped the car once more. Roxy couldn't take letting John sit there alone in his misery for long, though, so she spoke up. 

"I never had much of a relationship with my Mom either."  
"Really? Why?"  
"Well, to be blunt without coatin' it with tons of sugar or anything, she died. She 'bit it when I was little due to a tumor in her brain. After she died, my Dad became pretty involved with his work...to be honest I didn't get along with him very well over that for years."

Suddenly John felt very petty. He'd let himself get wrapped up in his own troubles when everyone else managed to have some sort of issue but ignore it and move on. 

"I'm sorry to hear that, Roxy."  
"It's alright. I just wanted you to know that you didn't have to feel crummy all by yourself. Kid your age shouldn't be dealin' with feeling that sort of loneliness."

John was going to reply, but suddenly they car was flooded with orange light that was akin to the sort created by the setting of the sun. John immediately looked out the window. Before him was a lush, forest-like environment. There were also several buildings in a clearing, one of which was a pyramid. Near the pyramid-like building was a lake of blue water. Skyscrapers seemed to hang from the ceiling far above. "Wow! A real geo-front!", John exclaimed, suddenly taking on a demeanor akin to a kid who just found out about dinosaurs. "Yep. Welcome to Nerv, John, mankind's hope for a better world."  
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Meenah stood before the five officials from the JSSDF, all of whom looked none to happy about the situation. "Alright, Crocker, we've done everything else we could possibly do to deal with the threat, but we're out of options. It's time for you and Nerv to prove that this isn't all a waste of tax-payers' money.", the older man who had before been so smug with The Commander said. Meenah adjusted her glasses. "But of course, gentlemen. After all, Nerv's purpose is to defeat the angels.", she replied with a slight smirk.  
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John and Roxy walked down another of the many, many long corridors in Nerv Hq. It didn't help that the grey, metal walls all looked the same no matter which hallway you were in. Roxy stared at a map of the place with a VERY frustrated expression on her face. "Roxy, are we lost? Because this is almost as bad as the stairs scene in Ghostbusters.", John whined. "We're almost there, John, don't worry.", Roxy dismissed him with a reassuring voice. 'Where the Hell are we?!", Roxy screamed internally.  
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The Commander sat at a desk that was above everyone else in the large room. She had her hands in front of her mouth once more, and appeared to be in deep thought as she gazed at the feed of The Third Angel. It looked like it may be regenerating at a somewhat faster rate than predicted. Suddenly, her phone began to ring. "Yes, hello?", she answered. "Commander, I just received word that Captain Hahaoya arrived at the western B-entrance.", a female voice replied. 

"I see. Begin thawing out Unit-01. Also, have Dave be at the ready to pilot just in case."  
"Understood."  
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Finally, the two found an elevator that would take them to their desired location. After they descended a floor, the elevator stopped, and opened its door. A woman was standing there, looking frustrated. This woman had black hair, and wore glasses over here eyes. On her body, she wore a lab coat that indicated that she was someone of intelligence to anyone who saw her. Underneath her coat she wore a simple white top, and a blue skirt with black leggings. "Get lost again, Roxy?", the woman said, stepping into the elevator. "Sorry, Aranea, but I can't help it! I've only been here two weeks, and that's nowhere near enough time to get this place memorized.", Roxy said, giving a small smile. Aranea turned away from Roxy, apparently having heard all this before, and looked to John. She gave him a very sweet smile. "And you must be The Third Child. I believe The Commander said your name was John, right?", she asked him. It took John a few moments to handle the fact that his Mom had talked about him. 

"Um, yeah, I'm John."  
"Well, I would just like to formerly welcome you to Nerv. I'm sure you've noticed just how complex we've made not only reaching our headquarters, but also navigating it. This is because, when the UN founde-"  
"Yeah, Aranea, instead of talking the kid's ear off, why don't you just take us to where we need to be."

Aranea shot the blonde an indignant look just before the elevator's doors opened. "This way.", she huffed as they exited the elevator.  
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In a small room, a young man sat on a bench, mumbling to himself. This young man wore a strange outfit that hugged his skin like latex. The outfit was mostly red save for some black areas along the arms and legs. Stranger that his outfit's features were his own. He had white hair which he seemed to have kept brushed to the side. His skin was pale, almost as white as his hair. Over his eyes, he wore a pair of mirrored aviator sunglasses. His name was Dave Strider, and he was currently coming up with lyrics for a rap he was working on to kill time. Said lyrics were so sick that they were considered terminal, the family of the lyrics waiting by the side of a hospital bed until the lyrics' time came while the doctor stood outside the room, crying and wondering why the Hell he went to school for, like, twenty years to have this job.

He currently had to wait and see if the new guy they were bringing in was going to be fit to pilot or not. Normally, they wouldn't even have to depend on this new guy, they could use Rose, and send her out there with her unit. But, seeing as both Rose and her unit were currently in a state of, er, disrepair, they were going to have to hope that this kid was up to snuff. They were still not sure if even that would work, so they had Dave sittin' around like a guy in the waiting room hoping his wife could pop out a kid so he could pass out cheap cigars. And even if he did get called, he wouldn't get to pass out cigars to anyone because he might not even be able to synch properly. Then they would all just have to panic, and some people would probably decide to have an end of the world orgy.

Regardless of all that, though, Dave just patiently mumbled to himself while the matter settled itself like the court case that would ensue after any game of clue.  
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The Commander watched as The Third Angel slowly began to resume its rampage now that night had fallen. She couldn't keep her mind focused on the sight. She was too busy waiting for the message from Aranea that would let her know that it was time to see her son again. Finally, the phone in her pocket vibrated to alert her of what she'd been waiting for.

The Commander stood, some personell turning to look at her. "I have a matter to deal with. I will return shortly."  
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John couldn't help but notice as they walked down the hallway that, if he hadn't just gotten out of an elevator, he'd have sworn they were exactly where they'd left from. Every hallway in this place really did look the same. Soon they reached a door, which Aranea led them through. They entered a room that was pitch black, but John could tell from the way that their footsteps echoed that it was a rather large room. He also couldn't help but notice the smell of blood filled the air. "Uh, where are we?", John asked. 

Not two seconds after the word "we" left his lips did the room suddenly fill with light. It was a vast room that was half-filled with a blood red liquid. They stood on a walkway that kept them from falling into the pool of red. Immediately before them was what looked like, for lack of a better word, a mech. They could only see from the shoulders of the robot up as the rest was covered by the red liquid. It was apparently armored, most of said armor being light blue, but some areas were green. Its face, looked as if it were scowling at the three people standing before it.

"What the Hell is this?!", John asked. "It is the Multipurpose Humanoid Decisive Weapon Synthetic Lifeform Evangelion Unit-01.", Aranea answered him. John looked to the woman with an expression of utter confusion. "And what does this thing have to do with me?!", he asked. "You're expected to pilot it, and to defeat The Third Angel.", a voice echoed throughout the large room in response. John froze for a moment before looking upwards. Standing on a balcony over the Eva's head was none other than the Commander of Nerv, his mother.

"Mom..", John said dumbly, unable to think for a moment. The woman just stared down at him coldly. 

"What? Why does John have to pilot it now!?", Roxy asked, looking to Aranea with a mix of anger and confusion. "Unit-00 is currently in stasis until it is fit to actually be used, and Unit-02 hasn't even been completed yet. There isn't any other option.", Aranea answered, none of the sweetness from earlier present in her voice.

John's mind began to work again, and he felt a rush of anger, sadness, confusion, and frustration hit him.

"Wait a minute! You don't have anything to do with me for ten years, and all of a sudden you expect me to pilot this-this-THING for you!?!"  
"That is correct."  
"Can you at least tell me why now?! Why after all this time you finally decide that you want anything to do with me!!"  
"Because I have a use for you."  
"I-I this is insane! You think I can pilot a giant robot even though I've never seen ANYTHING like this before in my life!?! You've got to be kidding me! There's got to be someone that's had proper training so they could ACTUALLY pilot it!"  
"While there may be others that are more acquainted with the technology, there is no one more capable of piloting it than you."  
"Y-You've seriously GOT to be joking! That monster out there is still running around even after that huge bomb was dropped on it, and you think I can actually operate this thing well enough to do what the military couldn't?!? There are people's lives at stake, Mom!"  
"I am aware of that, and it is for that very reason that I wish you would quit wasting my time."

John clenched his fists, and looked at the ground with a look of rage that would cause one to think it had murdered his family. John couldn't believe his Mom had only called him here for this! A part of him had hoped that she had wanted to reconnect with him, perhaps even explain why she'd seemingly abandoned him, but John now knew that part of him was stupid and childish for ever thinking such a thing. He couldn't have even a snowball's chance in Hell of actually piloting this thing. Despite this, images ran through his mind. Images of people he had passed on the streets of Akemi, of crying as his mother left so shortly after his father had, of people he had seen on Tv, of learning to live with total stranger who obviously had no attachments to him nor desired to form any, of people in magazines, of living on his own for the first night, faces of people he didn't even know existed but were possible in the sea of billions that inhabited the world, and finally an image of Roxy. John knew that he wasn't going to be able to say no to this, not when so many people could get hurt and he was able to do something about it, and that probably was what made him angriest.

"Fine. I'll pilot it.", John answered, not looking back up at his mother. "Good. Aranea will instruct you while you're loaded into the plug.", Meenah answered, leaving afterward.  
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The red fluid that had filled the room was slowly emptied until the Eva's full body was revealed. It was now quite obvious just how large the thing was, it being as tall as The Third Angel. However, the Eva was nowhere near as oddly shaped as the angel, its body being more akin to a well toned athlete. Armor covered its whole body just as it covered the head and shoulders of the being. On the right shoulder "EVA UNIT-01" was clearly written in huge, white text.  
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John soon discovered just what a plug was. On the outside it looked like a large metal capsule, similar to the sort that contained medicine. Within, he found that there was a seat for him along with some analog controls for him to grab with his hands. He sat down, and took the controls in his hands, wondering what came next. Suddenly, the same red liquid that had filled the room began to flood into the plug. John did the sane thing, and began to panic.

Suddenly, Aranea's voice could be heard within the plug. "Don't worry, John, the plug's just being filled with LCL. All you need to do is breath in so that it can fill your lungs, and it will allow your body to take in oxygen without using them. This allows the pilot to focus on the heat of battle without risk of hyperventilation." She finished just as the LCL filled past his mouth and nose. John held his breath for a few moments before finally sucking in the LCL. To say that he was happy to find that he wasn't drowning would be an understatement.

Just as John was beginning to focus on the task at hand again, the plug's dismally brown metal interior began to flash different colors, the controls being the only thing that remained the same. After the light show was over, John was able to see out of every part of the plug as if were made of glass. John could clearly see the room despite knowing that the plug was lodged somewhere in the Eva's neck.  
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Aranea watched a monitor that informed her how well John was able to synch with the Eva. Her eyes were wide with surprise upon seeing how well the boy linked with the machine. "He has a synch rate of 48%, and that's without the aid of a plug suit! Amazing.", Aranea informed Roxy, who now wore a red jacket over her outfit. Roxy grinned. "Atta' boy, John.", she said to herself, looking out at the behemoth the boy was inside. 

A door opened, and Roxy turned to see that it was The Commander. "Sir?", Roxy asked as the woman walked through the room. "Captain Hahaoya, I am putting you in charge of this mission while I deal with another matter. I have faith you will be able to handle it.", Commander Crocker answered her. Roxy raised her eyebrows in surprise before replying with a "Yes, sir!".  
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John closed his eyes, and tried to calm his shaking hands. He had to focus! If he messed up on this, thousands of people could die. He was going to make sure that he kept all of those people safe even if he was probably the least suited person to be piloting this thing. Dammit, why wouldn't his hands quit shaking?

Aranea's voice filled the plug again. She was giving John a crash course on just how the Hell he was supposed to make this thing work. John listened to every word, hoping that this would be enough for him to stop the Angel.

Suddenly, the Eva jerked, and John opened his eyes. Unit-01 was currently being moved to a platform that would send John up to the surface. Once the Eva settled onto the platform, John was sent rushing towards the surface at lightning speeds. 

Once John reached the streets of Tokyo-3, he found himself face-to-face with The Third Angel. It stood at the end of the street, staring at him with both of its faces. In that moment John realized that he was going to get all of those people killed. John's self-depreciating train of thought was stopped just as quickly as it started to gain momentum, though, as Roxy's voice immediately filled the plug.

"John, I know you're panicking right now, but I need you to calm down. All you need to do right now is walk, John. Can you do that for me?"  
"Just walk...", John mumbled to himself. 

The Eva slowly took a step off of the platform, cracking the asphalt of the street, and shattering some store windows. Then it took another step. John slowly began to become comfortable with what he was doing. He moved one of his hands, and clenched and unclenched his fist. He could see that the Eva's hand was doing the same. "I-I can do this.", John said with confidence.

The Third Angel ran down the street at Unit-01, and, before it had time to react, grabbed the mech's left arm, holding it tightly. John was shocked to find that he was feeling the ever-tightening grip of angel in his own left arm. 

While John's mind struggled to figure out how this was possible, he heard Roxy's voice again. "John, calm down, your arm isn't actually being hurt right now, it's just your psychic link with the Eva. You need to focus, John!"

A loud 'Krak' echoed through Tokyo-3 as the left arm of the Eva broke under the grip of the angel. John found that his left arm was still in tact despite the Eva's arm currently hanging limp and broken. Thinking fast, John brought his right fist down on the arm the angel was gripping the Eva's broken limb with fast enough that the angel had no time to react. A second 'Krak' rang out.   
Once the Eva's left arm was free, John immediately swung at the angel with his right arm. The angel dodged his fist, and John was unable to stop Unit-01 from falling face first onto the ground.

The resulting crash decimated the street. Just as John was recovering from the impact of falling, he felt a foot stomp down hard into his back. While Unit-01 writhed, The Third Angel aimed its now healed arm squarely at the head of the Eva. The same lance of purple energy that had destroyed the VTOLs earlier launched out at high speeds, impacting hard against the back of the head of Unit-01. The Third Angel continued to do this repeatedly.

John struggled to think as the pain The Third Angel was inflicting upon him clouded his thoughts. John struggled under the creature's foot for several minutes before finally, slamming the Eva's right hand onto the street, and pushing himself up.

The Third Angel was pushed off balance, and fell down onto its back. Unit-01 turned to the creature, it's left arm dangling uselessly, and crashed down onto the angel. Using its left arm, Unit-01 held the angel down, which caused John a lot of pain to do. John looked at the red orb on the creature's chest, knowing from Aranea that it was the angel's only real weak spot, and immediately brought the Eva's fist down on it. Just before the fist could make contact with the core, the "ribs" that had surrounded it closed into a protective shell, the punch hitting that instead. Unit-01 simply reared its fist back, and kept punching the shell as the angel struggled to break free of the behemoth's hold. The shell began to crack, and soon it shattered to reveal the core. 

John was about to deliver the final blow when The Third Angel suddenly wrapped its body around Unit-01. The angel's body swelled to a grotesque degree before it exploded, releasing red liquid and a beam of green energy. The beam shot into the sky, the shape resembling a crucifix.   
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Roxy and the rest of the Nerv staff in The Command Center watched with bated breath as the energy from the blast began to dissipate. What they saw once it did was Unit-01 triumphantly getting back on its feet while the red liquid rained down. As everyone cheered, the Eva made its way back to the platform to be returned to its cage.  
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In a large, dark room, there was only one source of light, and that was a desk who's surface acted to illuminate the person sitting there. This person was Commander Meenah Crocker. Twelve black Monoliths appeared around her. Each monolith had the words "SEELE" written in red along with a number from 01-12.

"After sixteen years, the angels have returned.", the third monolith stated.  
"And now The Third Angel has been defeated.", the fourth monolith added.  
"And so, after centuries of planning, our plans can finally be set into motion.", the first monolith concluded.

"Yes, ten more angels shall appear, and once they are defeated we will be able to bring about the next stage of human evolution.", The Commander said in agreement.

"Just as the scripture foretells...", the first monolith added.  
"Your son, are you certain you will be able to use him to accomplish this, Crocker?", the fourth monolith asked.

"He will be easy to manipulate, and even if he were to go against me, I will soon have what I will need to simply replace him, along with any other pilots that may rebel against our wishes.", Meenah assured them.

"Then all we need do now is be patient, and watch as the pieces fall into place.", the first monolith spoke out.  
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"A place I can finally feel at home? Someone who will actually care for me, and provide for me? A mutant cat?!"

"Who's the weird guy with the shades and white hair that's a pilot like me, and why can't he pilot instead since he's obviously been trained way more than me?"

"Who's the girl he visits in the hospital, and how the heck did she end up there?"

Find out in Neon Genesis Evangelion + Homestuck: Act I: Chapter 2: Settling In


	2. Settling In

Roxy and all of the other Nerv staff in the Command Center watched as Unit-01 walked back to the lift that had brought it to the surface. After a few moments, the lift lowered back down to Unit-01's cage, thankfully at a significantly slower rate than when it had been taking the bio-weapon up. 

Roxy rushed to the said cage to greet and congratulate John on his frankly spectacular performance. She watched as the plug was extracted, LCL being emptied out in a red spray. The plug was lowered, and several technicians went about opening it once it was on the ground. When she heard the 'klink" of the metal entrance to the plug opening, Roxy pushed past the Nerv technicians to be the first to get to John, saying something about rank as she moved past them. 

Inside, John was leaned back into the chair, his hands loosely gripping the controls. His expression was one of utter exhaustion. 'Poor kid. His body didn't take to the sudden psychic synchronization with Unit-01 too well.', she thought at the sight, a sympathetic expression on her face. "Hey, hero. How's it feel to save the city?", Roxy asked with an amused tone. "...Tired...", John replied through half-lidded eyes. "Yeah, I bet.", Roxy said as she stepped into the plug. The inside of the thing reeked of metal and blood, causing her to get a copper taste in her mouth, and the remaining LCL in the plug felt warm around her ankles. "Why don't we get you in a bed, hmm?", Roxy said, walking over, and helping John to his feet. They exited the plug, John leaning sleepily against Roxy for support. "Inform The Commander that I'm taking him to break room B11 so that his body can recover from the sudden synchronization with Unit-01.", Roxy ordered a technician before walking away with John. 

They reached the room after a thankfully short walk through the mind numbing greyness of Nerv's halls. The room itself was rather dark, and was very basically furnished. There was a coffee maker on a grey counter, a vending machine against the wall on the opposite side of the room from the entrance, a stiff couch in front of an old Tv to the left, and an equally stiff bed against the wall to the right of the entrance. The bed had a pillow, and a very, very thin blanket on it. 

"Welcome to anyone stuck with back-to-back shifts' fave room, Johnny boy.", Roxy said, making an arm motion to emphasize the glory of the room. John just made a small noise to signify he'd heard her. Roxy helped him onto the bed, John's incredibly loose grip on consciousness being completely lost as soon as he made contact with the mattress. Roxy smiled fondly over the teen for a few moments. "Thank you, John...", she said quietly before leaving him to rest.  
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Neon Genesis Evangelion + Homestuck: Act I: Chapter 2: Settling In  
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When John woke up on the break room's stiff bed, he was very confused. Then, it all rushed back to him as these things always do. "Oh, yeah...", he said quietly. He then became acutely aware of how dried LCL matted one's hair, and made clothes stiff and stick to one's skin in places that clothes were not meant to stick. 

He looked around, eyes surveying the state of the room. The room's darkness and the smell of stale coffee in the air told John that he'd been left alone since he'd been brought in here, which he only just barely remembered. He crawled out of the bed, the sound of the bond of dried LCL that had formed between his clothes and the sheets being torn apart being an unpleasant one, and made his way to the door.

John opened said door, and poked his head out to get a look at the grey hallway outside the room. No one was walking outside, which forced John to wonder if there was ever a large amount of people in any one of Nerv's hallways. John stepped out of the room, a feeling of unease in his gut. It was the sort of feeling that you got when you would get separated from your mother at the supermarket when you were little. The teen had absolutely no idea whatsoever where he should go now. He needed to wash off all this LCL so he could get into some clean clothes, and, more importantly seeing as he would likely now have to live near Nerv Headquarters since he now had to pilot that...thing, he needed to learn where exactly it was he would be living now.

It was for these reasons that John began to search for someone to help him accomplish his goals.  
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After being informed that he wouldn't be useful in any way in the defeat of The Third Angel, Dave Strider went about getting away from Nerv Headquarters. All he had to do was change out of his plugs-suit into the clothes he'd been wearing when they'd called him in, a boy's school uniform, and he was out of that place like it was a discussion about the state of the economy and he was a political leader. For those that are curious, the school uniform consisted of a tee, in Dave's case red, a white button-up short sleeved shirt, and black pants.

Upon reaching the surface world, he saw that the fight between the new guy and The Third Angel had apparently been pretty rough given the damage he was seeing. Dave didn't dwell on the destruction for any longer than was necessary to register that it existed for he had somewhere to be. It was for this reason that he got about walking the sidewalk like he was a troubled guy in a movie who just didn't know what do about that chick he liked but wasn't ready to commit to JUST yet. Soon he reached his destination: The hospital. 

Dave entered the lobby, which was mostly empty save for one or two people. The people at the desk practically knew him by name at this point. He made his way to the elevator, relishing in the shitty jazz music as he was taken up three floors. The doors opened, and Dave made his way down the hall to the room he'd come all this way to sit in. The room was where his sister Rose was staying at the moment. 

Rose looked a lot like her brother. She had unnaturally pale skin, and unnaturally white hair to match. Said hair was cut into a bob that framed her face rather nicely. There was one difference between them aside from the fact that Dave was a dude and she wasn't, though, and that was the fact that her eyes were purple, not red. Not that you could really tell what her eyes looked like seeing as she was asleep. Even if she had been awake, you'd have only been able to sneak a peek at one of her eyes, the other currently being covered up by some gauze due to her injuries. On the matter of her injuries, to go along with her head trauma, her right arm was broken, currently in a sling, and wrapped up nice and tight. 

Dave sighed at the sight. Not because he was disturbed by the sight or anything, he had seen her in such a state many times before, and she'd seen him in the same state just as many. No, Dave sighed because he'd had a hope that was silly as believing in magic that she would still be awake like she'd been when he'd been called in by Nerv. He stepped in, and pulled one of the two chairs in the room up to Rose's bedside. Said chairs were about as uncomfortable as that Thanksgiving you for some reason decided it was a good idea to bring your significant other who just so happened to be the same sex as you to meet your super religious, super Southern family.

Despite the the chair's negligible comfort levels, Dave managed to fall asleep in it.

Hours passed, and soon Rose Lalonde stirred in time to find her brother at her bedside, asleep in a chair that was probably going to leave him with severe back problems once he reached old age. Honestly, he needed to accept that she would manage to survive in the hospital without any trouble if he decided to go home and sleep in a proper bed. Then again, this would require him to use more than five percent of his brain, which he obviously couldn't do as he needed the other ninety five percent to be dedicated to concocting beats so ill you needed a vaccine if you were to even have the ghost of a chance of not catching the fever they were known to induce in those that were exposed to them when not wearing proper protection.

"Ahem. Dave, I believe it's time that you woke up. You're starting to drool all over yourself again, and we don't want the nice people thinking that you're an imbolent .", Rose said, causing her brother to jolt up in his sleep. "Sorry, Rose, I was too busy focusing on being a decent brother to worry about what the people who usually have to deal with people vomiting, shitting, or bleeding all over them thought about my drooling.", Dave replied without missing a beat. Rose gave an amused smirk.

"I do wish that you would have gone home after being relieved of your duties at Nerv because, to be frank, Dave, you look like ass. Which is saying something considering my current status of not having been able to bathe myself for the past several days."  
"Y'know, Rose, I tried, I really did, but the delightful aroma of antiseptic along with mind numbingly white walls was just so damn appealing that I found myself being pulled here as if I was the cube of metal in a shitty demonstration on the properties of magnetism, and the hospital was the balding teacher, who couldn't give less of a shit about the fact that most of the kids were asleep, holding the magnet. You'll have to forgive me Rose, I just can't stop myself from falling for the hospital's siren song."  
"You are forgiven. Now, tell me, did you by any chance happen to encounter the lucky individual that has become our peer in the realm of piloting giant monsters built by people so as they could do battle with quasi-eldrich level abominations?"  
"No, I didn't get the chance to run into him like we were two middle-aged moms who hadn't been very close at all in high school, but act like we were the fucking dynamic duo when we run into each other after thirty years in the frozen food section of the supermarket."  
"Ah, so it's a he, is it?"  
"I heard some Nerv guys say he was while I was leaving the facility, so if you're okay with believing the the gossip that goes around that place then, yeah, he's a guy."  
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Roxy Hahaoya was currently making her way to break room B11, carrying a tray of food she'd gotten down at the cafeteria in her hands. She'd also managed to fit a cup of coffee onto the tray. She was on her way to wake up John, thinking that the kid would have gotten enough sleep by 11:30 in morning, and to give him a proper breakfast. That is to say as proper as a breakfast that came from Nerv's cafeteria could be when it was lunch time. Which probably wasn't very, but the thought was what counted with these things, right?

After some finagling, she managed to turn the knob, and enter the room. "Wakey, wakey, John! I gotcha' some breakfast from the cafeteria. Probably won't like it much, but it'll fill your tummy up. I snagged y'some coffee from a pot Aranea just made too! None of that old crap in here. Promise.", Roxy said in a cheery tone as she set the tray down on the counter. "John?", she called out as she slowly turned around, confused as to why the boy hadn't stirred.

When she turned around to see that John was no longer in the bed, to say that Roxy was alarmed would have been like saying Alaska could get a little chilly during Winter. She immediately left the room in search of The Third Child. He could have been anywhere!!! He had no idea how to get around headquarters! WELL, neither did Roxy, but he had even less of an idea seeing as he'd not even been there twenty four hours! Not to mention he'd been ASLEEP most of that time! 

Roxy ran through the grey halls of Nerv until she reached the Command Center. Everyone turned around, and gave the Captain an odd look which made sense if you considered that Roxy looked about as panicked as she'd be during an angel attack. "Have any of you seen The Third Child since he finished piloting Unit-01?!", Roxy demanded of the staff in the room.

"I can't say that I've seen the little rascal since he got done showing that angel whatfor.", First Lieutenant Jake English admitted. On the subject of Jake English, he had messy, black hair, green eyes, glasses, and very tan skin; he wore the common brown Nerv uniform that most lower ranked officers dressed in. "I haven't seen him either, sorry, Captain.", First Lieutenant Jane English added to her husband's statement. On the subject of her, she had black hair which had been pixie-cut, the same sort of tan skin as her husband, blue eyes, and glasses. She too wore the usual brown Nerv uniform.

"Damn! Thanks anyway.", Roxy said, turning to leave the technicians to their business. She was stopped, though, when a third technician spoke up. "Actually, Captain Hahaoya, I saw The Third Child talking with Dr. Serket in the hallway earlier.", First Lieutenant Calliope Abney informed her. Calliope was a great deal smaller and paler than her fellow bridge bunnies. She also had green eyes that were very, very bright. She wore a brown wig on her head, and had the same uniform as her peers. "Thanks, Callie!", Roxy called as she ran off to pay the doctor a visit.  
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Dr. Honda Asahi was a doctor of some repute. He was very skilled when it came to treating injuries specifically, which was probably why he was one of the fifteen doctors that Nerv allowed to treat their pilots whenever the need arose. Currently, he was responsible for Rose Lalonde's recovery from injuries she'd somehow sustained during some kind of test. At least, that's how he was told she'd sustained the injuries. If he had as much money as many times as he'd had to treat that girl, and her brother for that matter, he would be able to open his own hospital. 

The good doctor was currently enjoying his lunch break in his office. He was eating the beef and cheese panini his wife had made him that morning for lunch when his phone rang. He put the sandwich down, and quickly grabbed the phone before it went to voice mail. "Hello?", he answered. "Hello, doctor.", the cold voice of Nerv's Commander greeted him.

"Oh, Commander Crocker! Why are you calling me, ma'am?"  
"I was calling to inquire about the state of Rose. She's been in your care for two weeks now."  
"She's recovering steadily, ma'am. The pain her injuries cause her has decreased to a dull ache instead of a constant throbbing."  
"I want to have her discharged today, doctor."  
"Um, ma'am, I'm sorry, but I don't think that would be very wise. I know I said that she wasn't in as much pain anymore, but her injuries still need more time to heal completely."  
"She's not dead, is she? She can walk, can't she?"  
"Well, yes, ma'am, bu-"  
"You will discharge her today, Doctor Asahi."

With that, the call was ended, and Honda was holding a phone to his ear who's dial tone was reminding him of that fact. He put the phone down, and sighed in his seat. He couldn't believe that woman was really going to force that girl back into whatever sort of world that could get her so badly injured before she'd even properly healed. With a sigh, he drew up some release forms.  
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"Alright, John, all you need to do is sign your name one more time, and we'll be done with all this paperwork. I know it's really long and complicated, especially for a kid your age, but all of this is necessary for ensuring that Nerv is able to safely keep all the information of all that work here in a physical form just in case we were to somehow lose your information. Though, it is fairly unlikely that we'll lose your information due to the number of security precautions taken to protect any and all of Nerv's information from the lunch menu to the location of the Evas. This is done because....", Aranea blabbered on to the boy who was currently sitting across from her on the other side of her desk.

John, by the way, was feeling much better now that he'd been given the chance to wash himself off. It also helped that he'd been given some super comfy and warm clothes once he was done showering . For those that are curious, his clothes consisted of a white tee with the Nerv logo on it and a pair of sweatpants. John was also currently wearing flip-flops.

The boy was about to sign the paper, and free himself of Aranea's never ending babbling about factoids about anything and everything she talked about, when Roxy burst into the room. Aranea looked away from John at the blonde, and John jerked around in his chair to see just who it was that had made such an entrance, though he'd known in his gut that it was probably Roxy. 

Roxy marched up to John, and shoved her index finger right in his face authoritatively. "What part of running around a facility you have no idea how to navigate without informing your superior, who had gone through the trouble of making you a hella awesome breakfast by the way, sounded like a good idea?!? You are to inform me of everywhere you go from now on, understand!? You let me know when you go to take a leak understand?!?", Roxy raged, her finger wagging in time with her word emphasis. Before John could even kinda sorta reply to that, Roxy turned her rage-beams on Aranea. "And YOU! Who do you think you are just waltzin' up and snatchin' up poor, lost John so you can blab at him 'till his brains run outta his his ears?!? How're we supposed to stop the angels from wiping out humanity if our pilot has soup brain, Aranea?! How?!", she demanded of the woman.

Aranea's expression was one of exasperated aggravation. "I'm sorry, Roxy, I was just trying to get the paperwork for John's new residence worked out. I'll never do such a thing without alerting you first again.", she replied. Roxy's face was one of shock at this explanation. "What do you mean working out the paperwork for his residence? You're really going to make him live on his own!?", Roxy said, appalled that Nerv would do such a thing to kid as young as John. At least Rose and Dave had each other.

It was at this time that John attempted to calm Roxy down. "Uh, Roxy, it's not really that big of a deal. I've been living on my own for about a year now. It's cool. I don't really mind.", he assured her. Roxy's expression went from surprised horror to a sad kind. "You-You're really okay with havin' to live all by yourself?", Roxy asked him in a far gentler voice than the one she'd used before. "I mean, it'd be awesome to not have to be stuck at home all by myself all the time, but if that's how it has to be if I'm gonna pilot the Eva, then I think I can handle it.", John said, a little surprised that he'd gotten the chance to actually voice how the whole thing made him feel. 

The room got very quiet in the moments after John's answer. Memories of white walls and sleepless nights flashed in Roxy's minds eye which prompted her to shatter the silence by asking, "Aranea, can you have it arranged so that John lives with me?" John and Aranea were surprised by what she said to say the least. If we go beyond the absolute least that's required to explain what their reaction was, then it would be accurate by describing their reactions as a shared internal "WHAT?!?". 

"Y-You want him to LIVE with you?! Roxy, you've got to be kidding! He's not some pet, John's another human being that you'd be responsible for!"  
"Yeah, Roxy, I don't exactly want to force you to take care of me. I mean, I'd think you already had a lot to deal with since you've gotta do all this Nerv junk."  
"John, you're just a kid. On top of that, you're an Eva pilot, which makes you one of the most important human beings on the planet. You shouldn't be forced to have to live all by yourself."

Aranea sighed, knowing that Roxy had a point. The raven headed woman looked to the teen sitting across from her. "What do you want to do, John? You deserve to be given the choice to live alone or not, after all.", she asked him.

For some reason, once it was phrased to him as a question, John knew exactly what he wanted to do. He'd hated living alone, and even when he'd had a social worker there they obviously hadn't cared about him so he ended up feeling alone then too. He could tell that Roxy wouldn't treat him like that if they lived together. She actually wanted him to feel happy. "I want to live with Roxy.", John answered her question.

 

Roxy let out a squeel at hearing John's reply, and wrapped the boy up in a hug. 

"We're gonna be so happy bein' roomies, John! We're soooo gonna have to celebrate whenever we get hooomeee!"  
"Ahem. Roxy, I think you're going to have to give the boy some room to breath so he can help you with all the papers we're gonna have to get through in order for you two to be "roomies.""

John and Roxy let out exasperated sighs in unison at hearing this news.  
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Rose finished putting on the clothes Dave had brought her, a female school uniform, with a sigh. The uniform, by the way, consisted of a white, button-up undershirt, a red ribbon around the neck, and a aqua blue sort of over-dress. The previously mentioned sigh was born both out of her not having been out of bed for the past two weeks, and the ache her injured arm was giving in protest of her moving it around so much. About seven minutes before, someone from Nerv had arrived to pick them up. This told Rose that she wouldn't be going home after she left the hospital, but that there was something which necessitated either both or one of them to be present at the headquarters.

Rose left the bathroom, and was able to tell right away that Dave and the man from Nerv hadn't done any talking by the fact that neither were looking at one another. She wasn't exactly surprised by this, though, seeing as neither Dave or herself were really what you'd identify as a "people person". 

"Damn, Rose, it's about time you got out here. I was beginning to think that the Trix Rabbit was gonna finally get his goddamn cereal before you ever came outta there."  
"My apologies, Dave, I discovered a transdimensional portal which transported me to a magical kingdom where time moved at a much faster rate than it does here, and I was busy ruling said kingdom well into old age before I ever remembered that I needed to get back to you. Luckily, it appears that I have been returned to the age I was when I had crossed through the portal all those years ago."

The two of them continued their back-and-fourth as they followed the Nerv employee out of the hospital to the back sedan that had been sent to pick them up. The car took them from the hospital to the same entrance that Roxy and John used to get to Nerv the day before. Shortly thereafter they were led by the same man who had picked them up to the office of The Commander, which Dave and Rose were unable to understand at all seeing as they were both were capable of getting to any one room in Nerv Headquarters blindfolded. They'd been tested.

When they finally reached the doors of said office, the man informed them that only Rose was to enter the office. Dave leaned against a wall as Rose pushed through the doors.

The Commander's office was vast with very little furnishing other than her desk. It was also very dark, the only real source of light coming from long, horizontal windows on the walls of the room, and it had a smell to it that Rose imagined was similar to what one would smell when entering the crypt of a pharaoh that hadn't been opened for thousands of years. The floor of the office was a black marble with white markings that, when viewed from above, depicted the tracks of high-atomic collisions within a cyclotron. On the ceiling, which was also black, the image of the Tree of Life was carved in white as well.

Rose walked forward until she was halfway to the desk before stopping. The point she stopped was as close as The Commander would allow anyone to get to her desk. On the matter of The Commander, she was currently sitting in her usual hands-in-front-of-mouth position. She had the same broodingly contemplative air about her that she always gave off. Rose kept herself totally calm in front of The Commander as she and Dave had always been expected to when dealing with the woman, none of her usual snarky wit present.

"You requested to see me, Commander?"  
"Yes. I wanted to inform you that, once your injuries are completely healed in twenty days, we will be bringing Unit-00 out of stasis. Once that is done, as I am certain you are smart enough to gather, you will be expected to pilot it. Do you have any objections to this?"  
"No, ma'am."  
"Good. You are not to strain yourself any further than necessary so that the healing process will not be slowed in any way. This means that you will refrain from any activities other than what is absolutely necessary such as dressing yourself and going to school. You will also be expected to resume your training once you've recovered enough to do so which should be in roughly ten days if you follow my orders exactly.  
"Understood."  
"That is all I needed to see you about. You may go, Rose."

With that, Rose exited The Commander's office. Once she was out, she and Dave made their way back to their apartment.  
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It had taken quite some time to get all the paperwork that Aranea had for them signed. Roxy had tried several times to convince the woman to cut the number of forms, but every time this happened Aranea reminded her that, as the one responsible for not only repair and maintenance of the Evas but the repair and maintenance of the pilots as well, it would look very unprofessional of her to do such a thing.

They did eventually get it all done, though, and, once they had, Aranea fitted John for his plug-suit while Roxy returned to her work station. After he was done being fitted for his plug-suit, which Aranea explained helped with synchronization, John was given five school uniforms seeing as he would transferring over to Tokyo-3's middle school. 

John changed into one of them seeing as he didn't want to wander around in clothes that looked like the sort of outfit you'd wear on a lazy Saturday. He wasn't afraid to voice his displeasure with the whole uniform situation as he walked from behind the curtain in Aranea's office.

"Bluh, uniforms are so lame. Why do they have to make us wear them? I figured being in the big city it'd be better than my old school, not worse. I mean, we may've had pre-Second Impact textbooks, but at least we didn't have to wear dumb uniforms."  
"Now, John, you have to realize that there are very good reasons for the requirement of students to wear uniforms here. You see, given the number of students that go to the school it is likely that not all students come from the best of homes. So, the uniforms allow those students who may not always have clean clothes to wear their uniforms without anyone noticing that it's the same one that they'd worn the day before thus sparing them a lot of embarrassment. There's a very long history as to what led to the implementation of uniforms as well if you would like for me to tell you about it."  
"I think I'll pass. Even if you made me read a textbook about why they're making me wear these, it wouldn't make uniforms any less lame."

Thirty minutes later, Roxy returned to the office, visibly happy to have clocked out for the day. "Thanks for keepin' an eye on my new roomie, Aranea! He probably made passes at you knowing how teenage boys can be.", Roxy teased while John got his stuff ready. John blushed, yelling out a "Hey!" while Aranea giggled. "He was fine. I hope you have fun on your first night as a responsible adult.", she said as the two made their leave. "I don't know about responsible...", John muttered as they walked out. "Hey!", Roxy could be heard shouting. Aranea just laughed as she got back to work.

The two made their way through the maze of hallways until they arrived at Roxy's car. John was happy to see that the car hadn't broken down in the time since it'd been tossed around by the explosion yesterday, but it didn't look like it'd be much longer 'till the thing quit either. Roxy drove them to the car train's platform, and soon they were being taken back to the surface.

"Hey, I hope you don't mind, but we're gonna have to do some grocery shopping before we can get home and celebrate. I know you're probably still pretty beat from yesterday, but girl's gotta eat, know what I mean?"  
"Yeah, it's fine. I'm pretty sure I could eat just about anything right now. The only stuff I got to eat was some chips from a vending machine." At this moment, John's stomach growled.

"Well maybe you wouldn't be so hungry if you hadn't gone off to wander around before I got back with your breakfast. Which was all kinds o' decadent. We're talkin' blueberry pancakes, baggles with creme cheese, and orange juice here, John."

John merely hung his head in misery upon hearing about the breakfast he'd missed. He might have been less sad if he'd know that it had actually consisted of coffee, some fruity jello, and a barely-warm hamburger.

Shortly after their conversation ended, they finally reached the entrance, and were once again allowed to roam amongst the surface dwellers. It was dusk so the city was bathed in a soft, orange light, and the sky was ablaze with reds and pinks that were easy to get lost in. John looked out the window, a little disappointed with what they were seeing. Tokyo-3 had always looked so much much bigger and interesting in movies and TV, but it now appeared that it had all just been exaggeration. "The city is so much smaller than in the movies...", John remarked with a depressed tone. "Oh really?", Roxy said with a twinge of excitement in her voice.

Suddenly, the ground underneath their car started to shake, but it wasn't bad enough to have any effect on Roxy's driving. John was confused, when he suddenly he saw buildings start to rise out of the ground. John shifted in his seat so he could get a look at the scene through each of the car's windows. As they drove, Tokyo-3 rose around them. This went on until they were surrounded by glass monoliths that towered over them and everything else. 

"Y'see that, John? That's the city you saved last night."  
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After their drive through Tokyo-3, Roxy took them to a supermarket as she had said she would. While it was a lot bigger than the one in Akemi, it soon became clear to John that supermarkets were pretty much the same everywhere. There was an odd smell to the place, the floor had white tiling, and the sound of generic jazz music was constantly playing. John somehow endured all of this long enough for them to reach the check-out line. It was at this point that something managed to break through the never ending cacophony of shitty music. That something was a conversation.

"...I don't know if I feel safe here anymore."  
"I know what you mean. Last night was like some sort of nightmare."  
"My husband thinks it might not be best for us and the kids if we stay here, and I don't know if I can disagree with him. I mean, they stopped that monster or whatever it was, but there was so much damage!"  
"I know. I don't care if this city is a fortress, if the sort of "protection" that Nerv provides is the kind that might get my house destroyed, then I don't trust them at all."

John couldn't help but be hurt by the two womens' conversation. They were totally right, though. He'd stopped that thing, but he'd wrecked a lot of building doing it. People owned or lived in some of those buildings! That's not to mention the damage done to the roads. He'd just seen how amazing this city was before coming to the supermarket, and he couldn't help but be afraid that he just wasn't skilled enough of a pilot to stop a monster without destroying it in the process. The people in this town needed someone who could keep both them and their home safe, and John felt like they deserved better than someone as inept as him.  
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John and Roxy walked, groceries in hand, up to the door of Roxy's apartment, which was apartment number 124 for any that were wondering. Outside her door were several boxes stack atop one another with the Nerv logo on them. "Oh, look, they got your stuff for us! I'll help you unpack after we get the groceries put up.", Roxy said as she pulled out her keys. Before using the keys to open her door, she looked at John. "Now, Johnny, I gotta warn you before we go in. I just moved in m'self, and I haven't had a chance to really clean up all that much so it's just teensy 'bit messy. 'Kay?". With that, she opened the door to her abode. 

Roxy had been a little humble when she'd described it as a "teensy 'bit messy". The entire apartment was littered with trash from fast food, empty cans of beer, empty vodka bottles, and lots of dirty clothes. "Roxy, I was a teenaged boy living all on his own without any adult supervision for a whole year, and my house was never anywhere NEAR this messy.", John said as he stared wide-eyed at the mess. "Shaddup or I'll kick you out of my warm home with its beds and food. I mean, if it's too messy for his highness then I don't see why I should force you to stay.", Roxy spat back at him as she made her way to the kitchen. John quickly shut up, and followed her into the kitchen. 

Roxy left to change into some more comfortable clothes while John put the food away. Upon inspecting the kitchen, John found that all of Roxy's food consisted of snacks and instant food while all her drinks consisted of alcoholic beverages of nearly every kind and various sodas. John made a face at the scene that said "Really?" before Roxy entered to prepare their food. She was now wearing a large, white t-shirt that said "2010 beer chugging champion" along with a pair of pink yoga pants.

John left the kitchen to watch some TV while Roxy went about preparing dinner. All seemed well as John sat on the couch, and turned on the idiot box. That is, until he noticed a black mass at the other end of the couch in the corner of his eye. John slowly turned his head to see that Roxy apparently had a small, black cat. This would have been fine had the cat not stirred to reveal that it had four eyes as opposed to the normal two. John let out an incredibly manly scream at the sight of the creature, and Roxy immediately came to see what the cause of her new ward's panic was.

"What is it!?!", she asked, eyes frantically searching the room for the source of the ruckus. John was standing up, and pointing at the cause of it all. "T-Th-There's a m-m-monster!!!", John stammered. Roxy's expression suddenly relaxed. "Oh, that's just Frigglish.", she sighed. Then her expression turned to one that showed she was very offended. "And you just called him a monster!", she said, walking over to pick the cat up. Frigglish nuzzled into Roxy's chest, apparently not ready to be awake yet. "B-B-But-", John insisted. "Don't but me! They had a lab where they did all sorts o' kooky experiments on kitties, and I saved him before they could put him down. Ain't his fault he's got a few more eyes that other cats.", Roxy defended, petting the purring creature. 

Roxy set the cat down onto the couch, and left to return to putting their frozen dinners in the oven. "Now you two bond, and get past your differences.", she said, going into the kitchen. John just sat down, eyeing the cat nervously. He tensed when the animal crawled over to rest in his lap, but soon relaxed when he saw that it wasn't dangerous. It was actually kinda cute when you got past the fact that it was a genetic abomination.  
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Roxy let a satisfied "ahhh" as she set down her beer after taking a very long drink from the beverage. "I'll tell ya', John, this is what makes all o' the bullshit worth while. A little beer and warm food is all it takes to make ya' realize why you spend all your time down in that place. Know what I mean?", Roxy remarked happily to her new room mate as she got to eating her food. "Uh, not really. I kinda don't have any real experience with drinking a cold one after a hard day's work.", John said as he also dug into their store-bought dinners. "Pshh, c'mon, John, you can't seriously be tellin' me that a kid your age hasn't gotten drunk at least once with his pals.", Roxy said in disbelief, apparently having no plans whatsoever to look like a responsible and mature adult. "I've never really had any friends, and I don't think I would have even if I did. I mean, what's the point in drinking that nasty stuff if all it makes you do is act stupid, and give you a headache in the morning?", John dismissed her.

Roxy's face took on a sadder expression at hearing John's words. He had said he didn't have any real friends that he went out and had fun with. On top of that, he'd said it like it really didn't bug him. A kid John's age shouldn't have to be left to do without when it came to making memories with their friends. 

"Well that's all gonna change, John."  
"Are you saying that you're going to make me drink?"  
"What?! No! Do I look like the sorta person that would let a minor get drunk under my supervision?!"  
"..."  
"Don't answer that."  
"I won't because I think you'd kick me out if you heard the answer."  
"I mean that you're gonna be makin' some friends now that you're gonna be in a new school."  
"Uh, why would that be the case? I figure it'd be harder."  
"Nope. Even if you don't know anyone, you'll be goin' to class with Rosie and Dave."  
"Who?"  
"They're the other two pilots. I had to deal with your transfer papers, and I saw that you three would be in the same class. They should be easy to spot 'cause I don't think any of your other classmates'll have white hair."  
"Wait, if there are other pilots that've actually been trained, then why am I gonna be piloting Unit-01?!"  
"Because, John, each pilot is best suited for a specific Eva. Rosie's Unit-00's pilot, and Dave's gonna be Unit-02's pilot when it's finished."

An awkward silence fell over the two. It was a good thing that they'd finished their dinner, or it would have been really uncomfortable. Once they were done, John went to bed while Roxy stayed up to watch some TV on the couch.  
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Roxy frowned as she watched a commercial for soap come on. She could tell from how John had looked after they'd stopped talking that he was bothered with what he'd learned. She'd been trying to make that kid feel appreciated and at home, but all she'd managed to do was make him feel bad. He'd been forced to shoulder an enormous responsibility, and he had no idea why. Seeing how it made him feel, it made her wonder how the heck Rose and Dave seemed like such normal kids. Sure they were a little quiet, but they talked to one another like normal kids at least.

She was pulled from her thoughts, though, when the intro for the nine o' clock news came on.

"Tonight's top story is on the events of yesterday that now almost seem like something out of a science fiction novel. The unknown creature that decimated much of the Adachi area was defeated by a special weapon developed by the defense organization Nerv. The weapon, which looks like something out of a children's mech show, is piloted by 14-year-old John Egbert."

The reporter continued, but Roxy was too busy being shocked and angry. The blonde grabbed her cell phone, and immediately dialed the number of one Aranea Serket.

"Hello?"  
"What the Hell are you doing releasing John's identity to the public like that?! I know the public affairs people had to get your permission before releasing that, so what the Hell's the big idea makin' it so the kid won't be able to leave the house for being flooded by reporters that wanna know all about what goes in the scary military base underground, and the skinny on the giant robot?!?"  
"Well first of all, it isn't a robot, it's a synthetic lifeform, and second of all, Section 2 will make sure that anyone that tries to harass John will be stopped before they can get to him. I honestly did it because I figured it'd make him popular at school, and he wouldn't have to deal with confirming it with all of his classmates that put two and two together when it came the new kid and strange robot."  
"Sigh...Thanks, Aranea, bye."

Once she'd hung up on her friend, Roxy looked up at the ceiling in deep thought. Aranea had been right, this would help him at school. This way he would be sure to have a reason to make friends like a kid like him deserved to. Unfortunately, part of her, a new part of her that couldn't seem to stop worrying about what was best for the teen, wondered if John even wanted to have attention like that.  
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John lay in bed, his things unpacked so that they now decorated the guest room. His glasses were on the nightstand, making the ceiling he was staring up at blurry. He couldn't help but think about the fact that he was totally unsuited for this. He wasn't very skilled at piloting the Eva, and he worried that it was the sort of ineptitude that training couldn't fix. He worried endlessly about all those people that were counting on him because he was afraid that he wasn't good enough to have that sort of dependence placed upon him. So many lives, so many amazing stories that grew endlessly in their complexity with each passing day were going to need him to be good enough to make sure they weren't ended suddenly.

John shifted onto his side, a look of unease on his face as he stared at the wall with unfocused eyes.

What made it worse was that there were people who could actually keep them all safe, but they still couldn't pilot instead of him. He had to do this, or people would die. Not to mention he was horribly afraid of talking to the other pilots, Rose and Dave. They probably already didn't like him because he was such an embarrassment with his lack any sort of skill as a pilot, and he doubted that'd be helped at all by his love of jokes people called corny and movies others thought were terrible and weird.

All of this was made worse, though, when the utter horror of what he'd done the previous day flashed through his mind. The danger and terror of battling against a monster that looked like it'd crawled out of someone's nightmares set into his mind, and he was suddenly reliving it all. His hands started to shake, and his eyes widened slightly with horror. What intensified these feelings was the knowledge that he couldn't afford to dwell on them lest he fail everyone that needed him.

Suddenly John's thoughts were halted when he heard the door to his room slide open. John could see the shape of Roxy's body in the shadow that the light from the hall cast onto the wall.

"John...I want you to know that you did good yesterday. You managed to keep everyone safe even though you were forced into a dangerous and scary situation without any kinda warning. I know you're gonna make friends because everyone owes their lives to you, and you're gonna get better at dealing with those scary situations. It's gonna get better, I promise, you just gotta hang in there and know I'm here with you the whole time until it does, and even after that finally happens. Goodnight, John..."

With that, the door slid shut, and John was left in darkness once more. John still felt scared and worried inside, but he was now also acutely aware that he felt like he finally had a place and a person that would be there for him. He finally had a home. And that was enough for him to fall asleep at least.  
End.  
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"A school where I'm the popular kid in class?! That's totally nuts! And if I'm the most popular kid in class, then why does this guy with black hair messier than mine wanna beat me up?!

"Taking a gun apart, and putting it back together? Close combat training? Survival training? What the heck does this junk have to do with piloting a giant robot?!"

"A visit to Dave and Rose's home?! I barely know those two! They're definitely gonna hate me now if they didn't before for showing up like a total creep!"

"Another angel? Are you kidding me, I just killed one of those things! Can't someone else do it this time!?

Find out in Evangelion + Homestuck: Act I: Chapter 3: Blood, Sweat, and Tears


End file.
